Day 4: I am with you

Isaiah 43:2-3, 5 (NIV)

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

“Floods and fire are ‘terms of extreme hardship.’ And notice that, just as in the famous Psalm 23, there is no promise to believers of exemption from trouble. God does not say, ‘If you go through the fire’ and flood and dark valleys but when you go. The promise is not that he will remove us from the experience of suffering. No, the promise is that God will be with us, walking beside us in it. Isaiah takes the metaphor one step further and says that, while God’s people will experience the heat, it will not ‘set them ablaze.’ That seems to mean that while they will be in the heat, the heat will not be in them. That is, it won’t enter and poison their souls, harden their hearts, or bring them to despair.”
– Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

When the floods and fires come, may we experience the grace of knowing you are with us. When the storms come, may the storm not be in us. When we are in the heat, may the heat not be in us. Lord keep our hearts humble, soft, and full of hope and trust in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.